Parents of Elle '13, Chevy Chase, Md.
- Rip and Marcy Wilson
Where did you attend high school? How does EHS compare to the high school you attended?
Marcy attended a public high school in Lancaster, Penn., and Rip attended St. Christopher’s School, an all boys day school in Richmond, Va., for 13 years. It is like trying to compare apples and oranges with respect to Marcy’s public high school, but St. Christopher’s and EHS share some attributes. Both include a spiritual element centered on affiliation with the Episcopal Church, and the focus of the education is not solely on academics as both schools emphasize the importance of extracurricular activities to develop well-rounded students. In short, both schools strive to educate the “whole person” – academically, spiritually, physically, and socially.
EHS differs from St. Christopher’s in that the School is 100 percent boarding, coed, and the extracurricular offerings and opportunities are much greater because the School is located in a major metropolitan area that is also the nation’s capital.
Why did you decide to consider boarding school for Taylor ’11 and Elle ’13?
Our girls’ primary school ended in 8th grade, so Taylor and Elle each had to apply to new schools for high school. Given that we live in the D.C. metro area, we were focused on schools in this region, including EHS. We were not actively looking to send either daughter to boarding school. EHS was the only boarding school considered by our girls.
Why did you choose to send Taylor, and later Elle, to EHS?
We allowed both girls to make the decision to attend EHS on their own. We are fortunate in the D.C. area to have many wonderful public and private day schools from which to choose.
EHS was attractive for many reasons. EHS is coed and both of our girls wanted to go to a coed school. The other coed private school offerings in which our girls were interested were limited in number. EHS offers a top-notch education along with an opportunity to participate in respected athletics and visual and performing arts programs. There is a healthy balance to life at EHS that sets it apart from many of the other area day schools that we considered. The physical plant of EHS compared to local day schools in the D.C. area is unmatched.
Both girls liked the idea of 100 percent boarding; even though we are local, both girls recognized that having the School be 100 percent boarding is important in terms of building a sense of community and school spirit.
From the parental point of view, what set EHS apart from many, if not all, of the other schools the girls considered is that EHS knows what it stands for and is comfortable with not trying to be all things to all people. While the School has had to adapt its traditions over time, particularly with the advent of coeducation, it has not jettisoned its connection with its past. Moreover, the emphasis on integrity, spirituality, and community, in addition to the academic focus, are the basis for shaping the future citizens who will make positive contributions to society.
How has the decision to send Taylor and Elle to boarding school affected their relationships with you?
Both girls have developed a sense of independence and empowerment that we don’t believe they would have developed to the same degree if they had gone to a day school. More importantly, we believe that their EHS experience has increased their closeness with each other and us as parents. As local parents, we are fortunate to be able to attend many EHS sporting events and performing arts productions. Both of our girls know that we support them, but we are not micromanaging their day-to-day high school life. As a consequence, we are not bogged down in the standard day-to-day arguments with teenagers regarding cleaning up their rooms, chores, curfews, homework, etc. From our perspective, we believe that the conversations are much more substantive and constructive. We have found that when they do come home, they are happy to spend time as a family. Our standard joke to our local friends is, “How many high school teenagers normally want to ‘hang out’ with their parents on a Friday or Saturday night?” For us, it is a regular, enjoyable occurrence.
How has EHS impacted Taylor’s life? Elle’s life?
EHS has given Taylor and Elle the healthy, balanced high school experience that we hoped they would have. Both girls have enjoyed competing at the highest level on the athletic fields while also taking advantage of the many other extracurricular opportunities that EHS offers all of its students (Elle sang with the EHS choir at Carnegie Hall last spring). They have enjoyed the incredible sense of community which EHS fosters among students and faculty through the many activities and traditions both inside and outside the classroom. They have also benefitted from the amazing opportunities academically, socially, and culturally that the School gives the students because of its close proximity to Washington, D.C. Both girls have also participated in off-campus or study-abroad programs offered by EHS including: the Dominican Republic Service trip, Diamond Acre leadership trip, and the Kenya service trip.
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